Task scheduling behaviour in agent-based product development process simulation

Abstract

In order to model the designer's autonomous task scheduling behaviour and use it in an agent-based product development process simulation, in this article a utility function is constructed, in which task urgency, task importance, agent individual preference and recovery cost are considered. Algorithms to calculate the utility function are developed and verified in detail. To validate and evaluate the scheduling behaviour based on utility functions in agent-based simulation, comparative simulation experiments are carried out on the basis of a case study in the Chinese industry. Simulation results show that the agent's behaviour in the development process simulation is close to the real working process of designers. In the comparative case study, the scheduling behaviour considering both task urgency and task importance can significantly shorten project lead time compared with considering task urgency only. It can also save time for the whole project if the agent assigns collaborative tasks high priority. The developed model and simulation approach can help organisations to identify efficient and effective scheduling behaviours in collaborative and complex product development processes.

Keywords:

• task scheduling
• product development
• agent-based simulation

Acknowledgements

This contribution is based upon the research work supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China No. 70971146 and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University China (NCET-08-0608). The supports are greatly acknowledged.